WitsView, a division of TrendForce, reports that the LCD panel market during this fourth quarter has witnessed strong demand as consumer electronics brands stock up for their holiday promotions. At the same time, panel makers are facing tighter supply for some upstream components. As upstream suppliers are less willing to make further price concessions, panel makers are constrained in their cost-cutting efforts. In general, the cash costs of LCD panels in the fourth quarter of 2016 have fallen by just 1~2% compared with the prior quarter.
Though panel shipments were strong in October, they represented a monthly drop from the much larger shipments in September. WitsView, a division of TrendForce, reports that October shipments of large-size panels (sized 7 inches and above, resolution at WSVGA and above) totaled 66.83 million units, down slightly by 2.4% compared with the prior month.
Global market research firm TrendForce has lowered the projected annual growth rate of smartphone production worldwide for 2016 to 2.5%. Though shipments from Chinese smartphone brands have been fairly strong, other international brands have suffered significant shipment declines, thus constraining the growth in the overall production.
The downward slide in tablet shipments has moderated during 2016 because Amazon’s and Huawei’s tablets have propped up the overall product sales despite the market headwinds. Global market research firm TrendForce estimates that global tablet shipments for 2016 will total around 154.5 million units, translating to an annual decline of 8.3%. Looking ahead to 2017, branded tablet vendors will adjust their product strategies and generate demand by releasing low-price devices. Hence, global shipments for 2017 are forecast to fall by just 5.3% annually to about 146.4 million units.
Global notebook shipments for 2016 is estimated to decline by 4% compared with the prior year to around 157.9 million units, reports global research firm TrendForce. Notebook sales this year have been constrained by rising prices and supply shortages in the component markets. Global notebook shipments for 2017 are projected to total 150.7 million units, representing an annual decline of 4.5%. Notebook shipments will continue to fall next year as the LCD panel market experiences a structural supply shortage.
